tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. first a look at the latino voting with fernando espuelas. also robert glasper is here. his ep features performances by the roots. we are glad you joined us. king had that said there is right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are onlyavwe hr . fwaht and we have work to do. fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can

stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like thank you. tavis: fernando espuelas is the host of the show that bears his name. he is one of the 100 notable hispanics. thank you for being here. it predicts a record latino turnout this time around. >> it is clear with all this enthusiasm across the nation they really galvanized a lot of

people. tavis: i assume he is going to get the lion's share of that vote. >> they are 75%, so mr. romney has the lowest support since its gerald ford. i think mr. romney made a strategic decision to go after the hispanic vote. the republican platform reflects that. tavis: how would you situate the issue of immigration reform? >> i think it is more of a proxy for how people feel they are being disrespected by the rest

of the country, and they brought immigration to the fore, not so much that is the issue, but it feels like it is being used, and people reacted to it. tavis: ferris is a bifurcation of the attitudes -- there is a bifurcation of the attitudes. there are a lot of hispanics who are disappointed of him not having done more in his first term, particularly in the forum that mr. romney showed up separately and mr. obama showed

up separately. you promise. a promise is a promise. what do you make of that sentiment? he did not -- there are people who feel he did not push enough on immigration. >> we have to understand the country comes first. 2009 was a full-fledged economic collapse. to implement immigration reform would have been nonsensical from a political standpoint. i know there was an attempt to put some of its forward, but it got zero response from congressional republicans. i understand the promise, but i think there is a reality.

tavis: for those hispanics who would disagree and say there never is i did time, black people would say, you could say it now is not a good time to end slavery or have voting rights. are they suggesting he should win another four years to press him on immigration reform? >> i think the economy has improved, and we are not in an emergency situation. the reality remains that the congressional republican party is for a much against immigration reform, so if the president is reelected, i think he will have a tremendous amount of support and an obligation to fulfill some promises, and that will be one

of his priorities going forward. tavis: what happens if this does not become a major priority for him to? >> i think that would be a problem. i think he would lose a lot of support, and people would be betrayed. immigration reform has to be understood by recovery. there are nonpartisan studies that show immigration reform is a mechanism to drive economic growth. it just makes sense to america. there is a and a emotional aspect, and people feel really hurt and pushed away, but at the end of today, it is an economic issue, and that is the way it has to be framed. tavis: tell me why you believe

they will take a different tack if mr. obama wins. if the president wins, he wins with a significant slice. the overwhelming majority of latinos will have voted for him if he wins. you had better concentrate on immigration reform or somebody. the other tactic is they did not vote for us. why respond? what theory is going to work? >> there is a reality, senator gramm said we are not creating enough angry white guys to have a future as a party, so the reality is of some point in the republican party will have to become more inclusive, so if it can be attributed to key

states, certainly the thinking people will push the parties forward. sharon bush has -- there are rational people in the republican party, but i think it has been captured by a radical extremist group, which is the tea party. >> republicans have had some success. we talk about marco rubio. i can talk about another -- a number of others. even though the hispanics will vote for president obama this time around, why are they waiting for having success of the state and local level? >> hispanics are not monolithic, and when you look at florida, you have a cuban-american community that has historically

been very republican. i think people are interested and want to report hispanic candidates, they are good. if marco rubio had had a pro in negation reform position, he would be the candidate, but since he does not, he was not chosen. eventually, i think the more sober voices will have more weight. tavis: what you think is the future of marco rubio? he did not win the hispanic vote. what is your read on his future? >> he is an intelligent man. he is quite articulate. does he play in florida? i am not sure. does he play in taxes, i am not sure.

marco rubio is seen in some ways of being the latino face of a party that is very harsh to latinos. >> the democratic mayor acquitted himself quite nicely. what is his future? >> he is probably the biggest star they have the right now. he is a very smart guy. he is highly educated and very different from a lot of other latino politicians. he is completely american in his point of view. i think it will pass over more than a lot of other candidates. >> give me your sense of how

important beyond this election this voting bloc will become. >> just democracy itself, that means the percentage of overall vote and will be hispanic will continue to grow. how will it break? i do not think it is a democrat did block. i think it is an independent bloc. i think it is winnable for both parties. i do not think immigration we will be talking about in five or 10 years. i think the party that ignores some of these basic issues, education reform is really a major civil rights issue right now. 80% of the students in los

angeles public schools are hispanic, so when that system sales, los angeles fails, california fails, but latinos feel this as well. tavis: how important is it to have voices in mainstream media that get a chance to express this view? >> one would be nice. i am struggling. when you look at the sunday morning shows, they are fairly monolithic, and once in awhile you will have someone, but i think that is the issue. we have not had because the moment in the hispanic community. we are still seeing it out of the mainstream to actually speak english. people are amazed that i speak english. it is quite a challenge to have a diverse latino zins in

way. if no one tunes in to watch those shows, that will eventually change it. >> i think we will be hearing your voice. up next, the grammy nominated jazz artist robert glasper. stay with us. robert glasper is a grammy nominated judge pianist. -- jazz pianist.

♪ tavis: i have always loved that your group is called the robert glasper experiment. >> it was supposed to be called the experiment, and i like it. tavis: i can think of a number of things, but the difference

between experience and an experiment. >> it is the feeling you get when the art is given to you. you get to experience the experience. tavis: does it feel like an experiment to you? >> we always leave it open. everything is open ended from the beginning to the end. we do not know how it is going to end. >> is jazz pianist to limiting to you?

is that too narrow? >> when i hear the word jazz pianist, i have the skills to do most things. even to be a bad jazz pianist, you have to be good. you can pretty much approach any music, and it is a state of mind. >> we were talking about how you got your street reacred. how much of it has to do with q- tip? >> he has a lot to do with my work. he supported me for a long term.

all those guys, he was coming out ready to support me. tavis: it is on this new project. tell me about that track. >> he had lyrics already. all that information, he was like, if that survives -- i call this project black radio, because we feel like music is crashing a round of -- around us. i can always go back to a michael jackson record, certain songs. >> you are right, and i can

take that into ways. -- two ways. it is a damning statement about black radio today. >> exactly. it had seven meanings, and that is normal. black radio hold our people in light. that is not good. >> to my mind, the loyal following you have developed, all you have received and all the folks who want to collaborate with you continue to build this fan base, and you

call it a black radio. you were not on this show because i heard you were on black radio. >> it depends on a lot of clutter -- of twitter. facebook, all that stuff went through so fast. they are artists. everybody is a trailblazer in their own way. >> the other side of that argument is you are right. the good stuff always in two hours. -- always endures. because the good stuff is not holding up, there are so many stations playing the old stuff, and because you get old stuff so many time -- i can get in my

car and here marvin gaye 10 times between here and my house. i appreciate the music. i appreciate the gift, but it is just a goody. it is not an old the because they play it all day. >> radio stations do not play it. this record is one of the trailblazers for bringing that back. >> the good news is you have a loyal following now. the bad news is you have a loyal following, which means they know what you like. they know what to expect common -- they know what to expect. what kind of pressure does that put you in?

>> they know they can expect to not expect a certain thing, , souse i'd jump so much they know i am all over the place. most of them are like, we are waiting to see what you come up with next. tavis: is there a profile of your friends? what would that look lipoma -- now what would that look like? as opposed to the typical fan base that says, i want to hear that song again. you miss the interlude.

i would think there is a liberation to having a fan base that is cultivated enough to let you be you. most of them do not have that in their fan base. >> the white kid sitting next to your auntie to the 20-year-old black girl who comes to my show. i make a joke all the time. one of the gains we had this summer, i looked over common- law and she might have been a 70-year-old caucasian lady next to a black lady, and they were both bobbing. was like, where do you see this? this is great. if you are a hip-hop fan, we are

going to play something you like, but we are throwing some re you would not be sitting in front of. tavis: you have done some covers. >> i chose the for the gala, because she can sing anything. -- for layla because she can sing anything. i chose them because it was a perfect couple, and -- perfect cover, and i do not know many people who do that. tavis: this cp is out now. what is next in the agenda? >> i am going to do volume 2, featuring a slew of guests and

artists i did not have room on this one for and people i have never worked with, so i am still getting back together -- getting back together -- that together. tavis: you are in los angeles. they are lined up all over the city. if you have just now come to know this brilliant artist, you now know the name, and you should add it to his collection. if you already know him, you are already in love with him.

this project is called black radio. there you have it, and the new project is out, and it is called black radio. your first time on the show, i pray not your last. that is our show tonight. until next time, thanks for watching. keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with a harvard professor of sarah lawrence-lightfoot. that is next time. we will see you then. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do thei try to live my life every daywe

know that we are only halfway and we have work to do. fighting nger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to yourl n like you. thank you. >> be more.

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